Getting to know Balint Juhasz and Marton Lonkai – Founders of Samurai Shoelace.
What's the story behind Samurai Shoelace and how did it all start?
It all started in 2020 when COVID-19 struck, forcing us to close our specialty coffee shops. Then we thought to ourselves: if the customers won’t come to us, we must go to the customers. We began with just one small batch of capsules manufactured by a third party, and they sold out immediately. This success led us to experiment with making more coffee capsules until we realized that this couldn’t be done as ordinary roasters or by simply being another client of a third-party manufacturer.
Long story short: we sold our coffee shops, built a factory with a capsule filling and packaging machine line, and worked with our roast master to develop different roasting profiles. Finally, in 2023, the Samurai Shoelace brand was born. Our main advantage is this: we roast exclusively for our capsules, using perfectly tuned roast profiles, and we handle the entire process from roasting to filling the capsules. Quality control is our guiding principle.
Can you share more about Samurai Shoelace's approach to sourcing and roasting coffee?
We attend festivals and fairs, and we live the life of coffee enthusiasts. This allows us to build connections not only with professional green coffee handlers but also directly with many farms. However, our biggest advantage is also our biggest challenge: we do not sell whole beans as a roastery; everything we roast goes exclusively into our capsules. This means we do not roast hundreds of pounds of coffee for espresso or filter brewing and then fill the rest into capsules. Instead, we develop a specific roasting profile for each coffee to showcase its true value in a capsule.
Just imagine: from one standard 69 kg bag, we produce 10,000 coffee capsules. So, ordering a container of the same coffee is out of the question. On the other hand, this is what makes us unique: we order only 1-2 bags, and when they’re gone, they’re really gone—we move on to the next coffee. (If you missed it, we’re truly sorry. Better luck next time!)
We evaluate samples based on our overall preferences and then place an order. When the coffee arrives, we conduct sample roasting (usually 5x100g) with different profiles. We make capsules from these samples and evaluate each profile to create our near-final version. Then, we roast a small batch (1-5kg), and if it meets our expectations, we roast all the remaining green coffee and fill the capsules.
It’s important to note that we use 100% recyclable aluminum capsules because aluminum is the only material that preserves the coffee for a long time without any degradation.
What motivated Samurai Shoelace to explore the capsule coffee format?
After COVID, we noticed that more people were abandoning time-consuming coffee preparation methods. In our coffee shops, sales of whole beans for home baristas declined as customers shifted to automatic machines and capsules. The issue with automatic machines is that they often can't produce a decent specialty drink, even with the best beans.
On the other hand, a relatively inexpensive capsule machine (around 80 EUR) can create a very good drink—not a "traditional" espresso, but one that clearly highlights the coffee’s real qualities: its aroma, tasting notes, origins, variety, and more. With just the touch of a button, our customers can experience different coffees without needing barista knowledge or experience. And the best part? It’s consistent: you get the same drink every time, 10 out of 10.
I’ve always envied winemakers: if you chill wine to the right temperature and it has no faults, you’ll taste what the winemaker intended. With whole beans, achieving that consistency is nearly impossible ("blame the roaster!"), but with coffee capsules, it’s been accomplished!
We all have our morning routines, and coffee is often a crucial part of it. What is your morning ritual like?
Marton: As a Brewers National Champion, I’ve recently been drinking a lot of filter coffee. However, since diving deeply into the capsule business and using my MORNING Machine (ad placement, be advised!), I’ve developed a taste for a wide variety of capsules from around the world. My routine starts with an espresso each morning—no milk, no sugar. In the factory, we also test various options with milk and sugar to ensure we meet all of our customers' needs. On weekends, my routine changes a bit: I start my day with a milky drink, usually a flat white made from two capsules.
Balint: Coffee has been a part of my life since I was 16 years old. I always start my day with a milky drink—usually a cappuccino. While I sip my first coffee, I gather my thoughts and prepare for the day. I usually have my second coffee at the Samurai Shoelace factory, and it's almost always a short black coffee made with our MORNING Machine. As for my third, fourth, and fifth coffees, I don’t follow any strict routines. I really enjoy a good filter brew, an espresso tonic, or a cold brew.
What are you most excited about right now and for the future of Samurai Shoelace as a brand/business?
Marton: I’m thrilled by the feedback from customers who have tried our capsules after years of using commercial coffee pods. Our journey is all about showing them what coffee can truly be—without needing an expensive home barista setup or extensive knowledge to enjoy a coffee shop-like experience. I’m also very excited about our collaboration with Morning. It’s incredible to think about people trying our capsules, perhaps even on the other side of the world.
Balint: When I started diving deeper into specialty coffee, I was amazed by how diverse and exciting coffee can be. I realised that most people drink coffee every single day, yet they know little about it. I got into the coffee business to show people the diversity and complexity that coffee can offer. I believe that coffee capsules are a great format to do this. I’m excited to be a part of Samurai Shoelace and to join the MORNING family. I hope that we can grow together and make specialty coffee accessible to more and more people around the world.
